Agilent Partners with National Heart Centre Singapore to Boost Heart Failure Research

Agilent Technologies Inc. has entered into a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) to enhance research on metabolic heart failure. This partnership aims to address a critical area in cardiovascular medicine, focusing on human cardiac organoids to uncover the metabolic drivers behind heart failure and to develop new therapeutic strategies.

Heart failure is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with specific metabolic forms such as diabetic heart failure and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) presenting particular challenges due to the limited treatment options available. The collaboration between Agilent and NHCS will leverage cutting-edge analytical technologies, including Agilent’s Seahorse XF Flex Analyzer, to conduct real-time metabolic analysis of three-dimensional (3D) tissues and organoids.

Innovative Research Collaboration

“This collaboration with Agilent allows us to advance the study of heart disease using patient-specific beating heart cells,” stated Prof Derek Hausenloy, director of the National Heart Research Institute Singapore (NHRIS) at NHCS. By combining NHCS’s expertise with Agilent’s advanced technology, researchers aim to detect early changes in energy utilization by heart cells before visible damage occurs. This innovation is expected to accelerate the discovery and safe testing of new therapies, ultimately providing hope for heart failure patients currently facing limited treatment options.

NHCS has established itself as a leader in modeling monogenic cardiac diseases through the use of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This foundation has led to the identification of novel therapeutic targets that are currently undergoing clinical evaluation. The integration of Agilent’s next-generation technology with NHCS’s Preclinical Platform for Development of Therapeutics for Heart Failure (PREVENT-HF) will facilitate the generation of hypotheses for clinical validation, offering fresh insights into disease progression and treatment safety and efficacy.

Bharat Bhardwaj, vice president of APAC sales at Agilent, emphasized the significance of this partnership: “Together with NHCS, we are bridging science and technology to reimagine how metabolic heart failure is understood and treated through translational research.” This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular care while enhancing the biomedical ecosystem.

Previous Initiatives in Singapore

Agilent has a history of contributing to research advancements aimed at improving population health in Singapore. In 2019, the company collaborated with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the National University Hospital (NUH) to launch a research hub with an investment of $38 million. This initiative was designed to enhance clinical diagnostics and biochemistry testing.

Last year, Agilent partnered with NUS, specifically through the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, to establish the NUS-Agilent Center of Excellence in Cell Metabolism. This center supports the Singapore Ministry of Health’s Project RESET, the Cardiovascular Metabolic Disease Translational Research Programme (CVMD-TRP), and the PREVENT-HF initiative, all aimed at accelerating discoveries related to the complex mechanisms of heart disease.

The collaboration between Agilent and NHCS represents a significant step forward in addressing cardiovascular health challenges. By harnessing advanced technologies and innovative research methods, both organizations are poised to make meaningful contributions to the understanding and treatment of metabolic heart failure, ultimately improving outcomes for patients worldwide.